New Delhi: The long and tedious process of environmental clearances from state forest departments and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the last three years, has held up some 25 development projects of the Ministry of Railways across several states, according to an RTI reply received by The Sunday Guardian from the Ministry of Railways.
The lack of environmental clearances has affected railway projects in Madhya Pradesh (three), Karnataka (five), Uttar Pradesh (six), two each in Odisha, Maharashtra, Bihar, Delhi and Jharkhand, and one each in Jammu and Kashmir and Goa.
Some of the important railway projects from these states that are stuck are the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project in Jammu and Kashmir; Lucknow-Pilibhit gauge conversion project in Uttar Pradesh; Chapra-Balia rail link project passing through Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; Hospet to Vasco Da Gama, a 325 km new railway link in Karnataka; Ghazipur city to Balia, a 65 km railway project in Uttar Pradesh; and the Sakari-Hasanpur new line 76 km project in Bihar, among many others.
The crucial Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project has been facing delays for more than 15 years and in 2014, a part of this project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, according to the RTI reply from the Ministry of Railways, the construction at the Katra-Banihal section of this project has been affected due to pending forest clearance of 14.87 hectares of land with the forest department of Jammu and Kashmir. This project, which was slated to be completed by 2020, is going to miss the deadline and is not likely to be completed before the summer of 2021, according to Railway officials in Delhi.
The project for the doubling of the Chapra-Balia rail link has also been stalled as about 42.77 km of the 65 km of this line comes under the protected forest area and a proposal for forest clearance had been submitted to the Uttar Pradesh authorities by the Ministry of Railways more than a year ago.
The Ministry of Railways is yet to receive a nod for construction, according to the Ministry’s response to the RTI.
In case of South Western Railways’ 325 km long Hospet to Vasco Da Gama via Hubli, Londa and Tinaighat rail link, forestland of 25.83 acres has come in between, causing delays in the project. The project, which was slated to be completed by 2018, is pending clearances from the Karnataka state forest department for grant of land, and according to Railway officials as mentioned in the RTI reply, “The Department of Forest is insisting on mutation plans and land revenue survey numbers duly certified by revenue authorities, but the absence of such records has held up the entire process.”
At least eight projects have been held up for pending proposals to cut trees for the expansion or laying of new railway tracks in states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Odisha and Jharkhand.
In Delhi, awaited permission to fell 4,700 babool trees has held up the expansion of the third and fourth line between Tilak Bridge and Anand Vihar railway stations, which has become crucial to decongesting this line for all west-bound trains, while expansion works for the Bijwasan terminal have also been hit for want of environmental clearances, as permission is pending before the state forest department since 2016.
The RTI also further said that at least two projects in Madhya Pradesh have been held up due to the issue of “Land within Right of Way (RoW)” of Railways. The Karail Road-Singrauli and Karail Road-Shaktinagar projects have been held up due to the “Land within Right of Way (RoW)” of the Railways in these sections. The Ministry of Railways has also taken this matter up with the government of Madhya Pradesh and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for clearing the land for the projects.